Wire fence



(No Model.) v

M. Mv. SHELLABERGER.

WIRE FENCE. .Na-501,216.' Patented July 11,1893.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcjE.

MICHAEL M. SHELLABERGER, OF DE KALB, ILLINOIS.

WIRE FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 501,216, dated July 11, 1893.

Application iiled March 14. 1893. Serial No. 465,865. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownv that I, MICHAEL M. SHELLA- BERGER, of De Kalb, Illinois, have invented4 certain new and useful Improvements in Wire Fences, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a wire fence composed of longitudinall cables interwoven with vertically arranged pickets and Vbelongs to that class of fences which are usually designated wire picket'fences.

The object of my invent-ion is to provide a fence of this character which shall be orna- Inental, and which is so constructed that the component parts are rigidly interlocked and preserve their due relation to each other in use, and which can be produced at such cost as to render its manufacture profitable and its use economical.

My invention consists in a fence comprising in combination web pickets composed of a plurality of wires which are crossed, cabled or twisted to provide a mesh of suitable size and width and strand or cable wires embracing said pickets and serving to hold them with their broad portions in the same plane and in the plane of the cable wires. These web pickets are preferably composed of three wires, two of which may be designated as strand wires which cross each other and may be twisted at their intersections and a third wire which is bent Vinto a ribbon or zigzag form to provide the mesh and woven with the strand wires so as to prevent its longitudinal movement. The pickets may be made single or in sections of a length corresponding to the height of the fence, but are preferably made double and Woven into the fence in an inverted U-form, the bow extending above the top of the upper cable wire and the legs being embraced and secured by the cable wires with their broad sides in the same plane. By making these web pickets double or of U-forxn, a much more rigid construction can be secured than by the use of single pickets and the rigidity of the structure may be further increased by so arranging the pickets that the cable wires will cross and engage theirbroaderportions. The U-shaped picket has the further advantage of giving an ornamental inish to the top of the fence, its severed ends being at the bottom of the fence and usually near the ground. By constructing these pickets from a plurality of Wires and so as to provide an open mesh lateral bending of the bodies of the pickets by the vibration or lateral movement ofv the cable wires is prevented.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a side elevation of a section of my'improved fence, showing two pickets. Fig. 2 is a similar view of a section, having only one picket, the latter being of slightly diferent construction. Fig. 3 is an enlarged view showing the preferred construction of the picket, in which the strand wires are simply crossed between the adjacent zigzag portions of the ribbon wire. Fig. l is a similar view of a construction wherein the strand Wires are twisted between the zigzag-portions; and Fig. 5 is a similar View of a construction wherein only two wires are employed in constructing the picket; and Fig. 6 is a similar view of a four wire picket construction.

In carrying out my invention, I preferably produce a three wire picket, as shown in Figs. l to 4 inclusive, in which the strand wires are marked d, b, and the zigzag or ribbon wire c. The wire c is so woven as to produce an open mesh thus enhancing the appearance of the picket and making it so broad that when woven into the fence it cannot turn.

As shown in Fig. 3, the wire c is not twisted with the wires a b, but the latter are crossed between the adjacent angles thereof. lThe wires c1, b may, however, be twisted between the angles of the wire c, as shown in Fig. 4. The former construction is simple and easily made. Y y

As shown in Fig. 5, the picket stock is formed from a single strand wire a and the web wire c is coiled at shortintervals around said wire and then bent to provide the semicircular loops c', the adjacent loops being on opposite sides of the strand wire and forming an open mesh. I

As shown in employed. f

Other forms of weaving may be employed which will embody-the principal feature of my invention which so far as the picket is concerned consists in the employment of a plurality of wires so woven or interlaced as to produce an open mesh picketin which the Fig. 6, two ribbon wires are IOO bends of the wires defining the opening are arranged in the same plane.

The picket stock may be formed continuously and then cut to the required length, the bow or arch being formed on any curvature desired.

In practice I have found that with a fencesay-iifty inches high and having six cable wires, the picket presents the best appear ance when the legs are arranged about four inches apart, but they may be much closer together, 4as seen in Fig. 2, or even so close;

that the opposing angles of the web or ribbon wire will touch.

E represent cable wires which are twisted as at e between adjacent pickets and also preferably twisted as at f between the legs of each picket. The most convenient lnethod of working is to first lay the end of one of the sections from which the picket is to be formed transversely to and between the cable wires, and then to produce the twists e. Then the free end of the picket section will be bent into a position parallel with the end already woven into the structure, and the twistsf will be formed, thus securing the second member of the picket in place.

It will be seen by reference to the drawings that the picket members are so arranged that the cable wires cross them at the wider portions; andthe strands of the cables being thus i engaged with the picket at one or both sides of its middle, the pickets are prevented from i turning and are held in line so that an edge View of the fence presents the thickness only of the cables plus the thickness of the pickets, while a side elevation of the fence presents the broad sides ofthe pickets to View.

I claim- 1. The herein described fencing material composed of vertically arranged open mesh pickets each having two legs arranged parallel to each other and integrally formed from a plurality of Wires woven to produce the mesh, and longitudinal cable wires crossing and embracing the pickets and twisted between adjoining pickets, substantially as described.

2. The herein-described fencing material, comprising in combination pickets composed of a strand wire or wires and a ribbon orweb wire or wires supported by the strand wires and providing an open mesh, and longitudinal cable wires embracing the pickets and twisted between them, substantially as described.

3. The herein-described fencing material, comprising in combination pickets of U-form composed of a strand wire or wires and azigzag ribbon wire or wires supported by the strand wires, the latter being crossed between the zigzag portions, and longitudinal cable wires embracing the pickets and twisted between them and also twisted between the legs of the pickets, substantially as described.

4. The herein-described fencing material, comprising U-shaped pickets each composed of two strand wires and a ribbon `wi-re `of zigzag form, the strand wires being twisted longitudinally of the 'ribbon wire so as to cross the angles thereof, and longitudinal cable wires embracing the legs of the pickets and twisted between the pickets, substantially as described.

MICHAEL M. SI-IELLABERGER.

Witnesses:

JULIUs E. MArTEsoN, E. B. GILBERT. 

